The Dr. James Holmes Memorial Cancer Resource Room at Interim LSU Public Hospital

The Dr. James Holmes Memorial Cancer Resource Room

New Orleans --The Dr. James Holmes Memorial Cancer Resource Room at the Interim LSU Public Hospital, in New Orleans, is a dedicated area where ILH inpatients, outpatients, their families and ILH staff can receive information and support on all cancer-related issues, across the entire spectrum of the disease, including prevention, diagnostic work-up, diagnosis, treatment, symptom management, survivorship and end of life. Well stocked with pamphlets and brochures on a wide range of cancer topics, the room also has two computers, which patients can use to obtain online educational material. The room’s amenities and resources will provide physical, emotional and spiritual support to patients.

“The Cancer Resource Room will give patients the opportunity to learn about their condition and the resources that are available to them. Knowledge can be a powerful part of the treatment and healing process,” said Dr. Juzar Ali, Interim CEO of the ILH and its Medical Director. “We extend our gratitude to the Medical Center of Louisiana Foundation for its backing of this project, and we are happy to keep alive the caring spirit of Dr. Holmes with this recognition of him.”

The creation of the room, in East 433/434, was a collaboration between Colleen Lemoine, MN, RN-BC, APRN, AOCN, Jean Clavier, RHIA, CTR, CPC, and Vilija Vaitaitis, a second-year medical student at LSUHSC.

LSUHSC medical students will provide assistance in the room as volunteers.

Tami Hills of Nola Clutter Busters generously contributed some of her expertise, time and labor to create a light, positive and comfortable environment for the Cancer Resource Room.

The Medical Center of Louisiana Foundation (MCLF) provided half of the funding for the room from its Spirit of Charity 2011 fundraiser. The recipient of the annual Spirit of Charity Award for that year, Dr. Charles V. “Bo” Sanders, designated the proceeds from the event for the care of cancer patients. The Foundation also used a bequest it received from the estate of the late Dr. James William Carl Holmes for the other half.

“Dr. James William Carl Holmes was a highly esteemed and much-loved surgeon who served as the previous Chair of the Charity Hospital Cancer Committee,” said Colleen Lemoine. “Dr. Holmes generously provided a donation to the Foundation on his passing, from cancer. It would be a fitting tribute to him to create a Cancer Resource Center that would serve the educational needs of patients affected by cancer.”

The Medical Center of Louisiana Foundation, dedicated to supporting the mission of Charity Hospital through the Interim LSU Public Hospital, created The Spirit of Charity Award in 1998. The Award is presented annually to a physician whose career began or was nurtured in the healing and teaching wards of Charity Hospital in New Orleans. The Foundation’s annual selection of the award’s recipient is guided by the recipient’s training and dedication to providing exceptional medical care to the community and clinical training to physicians who practice or have practiced in Louisiana.